Week 7 makes for another solid week in the books. While Matt Ryan wasn’t really part of Atlanta’s festivities, the process was sound as Atlanta still scored 30+ points. Andy Dalton held his own even with Jeremy Hill stealing the spotlight, and we were right to be bearish on Russell Wilson, Jordan Howard and Brandon Marshall.

Now it’s time to review my rankings for Week 8 and look at how they stack up against the Expert Consensus, commenting on any standouts or points of contention. Assume standard rankings when I say that a player is x spots ahead or below consensus.

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Week 8 Quarterbacks - Rankings Analysis

I know that Dak Prescott has played well enough to fend off the looming Tony Romo fever, but this is not a good spot for him. While he does have a home matchup going for him, the defense opposing him will be the best pass defense according to FootballOutsiders’ DVOA metric – the Philadelphia Eagles. I see this being a rather gritty game, and even with Dez Bryant back I doubt Prescott is called on to do all that much. As a result, I’ve got him at #19 versus a #14 consensus.

I realize I just said I see this as a gritty game, but Carson Wentz is getting bumped up several slots to #18 (#22 consensus) right above Prescott. He’s still definitely not a QB1, but I see him as a fair mid-range QB2 instead of a guy that those in two-QB leagues should consider benching. While Dallas’ defense ranks 8^th in run DVOA, they check in at 22^nd against the pass thanks to exceptional vulnerabilities against the tight end and pass-catching running backs. Hopefully Philly recognizes this, and springs Zach Ertz and Darren Sproles loose.

Week 8 Running Backs - Rankings Analysis

Jordan Howard and Matt Jones are both trending downwards, yet they need to be pushed even further (down five spots each). Howard has nothing going for him in Week 8. Not only is Ka’Deem Carey looking better out of the backfield, but Howard has turned his 12 red-zone rushing attempts this season into only 15 yards and one TD, and now he gets to face a Minnesota defense that has resembled an angry brick wall. Oh, and Jeremy Langford returnd to practice on Tuesday. Chicago's backfield is about to be disgusting, Minnesota matchup aside. Pass.

Meanwhile Matt Jones has been all Jekyll and Hyde lately, with TDs in Weeks 2, 4 and 6 alongside very poor Weeks 1,3,5 and 7. Gambler’s fallacy would have us hammer Jones hard in Week 8 due to this, but the reality is that he’s pretty spotty. He’s fumbled the ball eight times in his first 20 NFL games, including three already this season. This led to Chris Thompson (#25 against #30 consensus) getting the majority of Washington’s RB looks. Relying on either Howard or Jones looks unwise, though I suppose they make for a major DFS tournament pivot.

Week 8 Wide Receivers - Rankings Analysis

Kelvin Benjamin is set to get the Patrick Peterson treatment in Week 8 (and will have free safety Tony Jefferson – 86.7 PFF grade – over the top). As a result I’ve slipped him to #22 against a #18 consensus. I do see Carolina needing to keep with Arizona, who should be able to exploit the Panthers terrible secondary, but the probability that it goes through Benjamin is low.

I also have Mohamed Sanu at #39 against a #46 consensus, who should be in line for a bounceback against a Green Bay secondary that is woefully beaten up. While Julio Jones is the consensus #1 WR this week as a result, Sanu should get a few key looks with Tevin Coleman likely sidelined. A couple of other risers are Marquise Goodwin (+9) and Tyreek Hill (+12), as both of them are absolute burners with Goodwin being Buffalo’s healthy #1 WR right now and Tyreek Hill squaring off against a poor Indianapolis secondary.

Week 8 Tight Ends - Rankings Analysis

It’s no secret that Oakland’s defense makes for a good TE target, so Cameron Brate gets the bump to #11 from #16 despite a disappointing three targets last week against San Francisco. While he did catch all three of them, we’d like to see a return to Weeks 3 and 4 when he saw 18 combined targets. The Bucs don’t want Winston throwing as much as he had been, but Brate should see more than three targets against an exploitable Raiders defense.

Earlier we alluded to how Philadelphia could take advantage of a Dallas defense that ranks 31^st against the TE according to DVOA data, so Zach Ertz checks in at #15 against a #20 consensus. This is a longshot as he’s only caught five balls over the past three weeks, but again we’re banking on HC Doug Pederson and company realizing this is how you can attack Dallas. Vernon Davis also notably gets a modest three-spot lift to #12 for me thanks to a matchup against a Cincinnati defense that checks in at 28^th against TEs per DVOA. If Jordan Reed somehow plays, then Davis becomes a non-factor of course.

I’d rather talk more about the skill positions than include kicker or defense, as they are far less interesting to me. Feel free to send me a vitriolic message should you want them back, I’ll listen I swear.